KUCHING: The Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre will be built in the Kuching-Samarahan corridor.
Its construction is expected to commence immediately in view of the urgency for the centre to be operational by 2024.
Expected to be sited adjacent to the Sarawak Heart Centre, it is to ensure synergy between the two agencies and to provide for the ability to ramp up diagnostic and hospital bed capacity in the event of a pandemic, with the provision of space for a 1,000-bed field hospital.
The centre aims to ensure outbreak preparedness and to spearhead the fight against future pandemics in Sarawak. It will be a research facility under the purview of the Sarawak Research and Development Council (SRDC).
Its goals are to protect Sarawak by improving research in infectious disease; equip Sarawak with the capability and capacity to test therapeutics, vaccines and equipment against infectious agents; and enable Sarawak to detect, diagnose, and predict potential infectious disease outbreak.
The centre will also complement and collaborate with the Ministry of Health (MoH) in tackling infectious diseases in Sarawak.
It will bring together talents regionally and internationally, as well as attract global biomedical companies to ensure the state is prepared for future challenges.
To be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories, these will allow research and development on BSL-3 infectious agents, and subsequently product testing to ensure commercialisation of research and development (R&D) output.
The Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre will also provide opportunities for talented Sarawakians to serve the state and drive human capital development in biomedical sciences.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, who is also SRDC chairman, announced the directive on the centre in November last year and it was approved by the Sarawak State Cabinet during their sitting in February this year.
